Barcelona city guide for fabulous travellers

Barcelona Pride 2018 cover La Pelos Tiene Barba CREDIT Minka Guides

Barcelona Pride: everything you need to know

Considered to be the biggest LGBT+ Pride celebration in the Mediterranean, with over 200,000 people taking part in the celebrations each year, Barcelona Pride is a wonderful time to visit the city. This cosmopolitan beach city hosts one of the least corporate and most inclusive Pride celebrations I’ve experienced anywhere in the world. Plus, it’s also one of my top 5 places to visit, so you are guaranteed an amazing weekend full of beaches, good food and fun bars – […]

Things to do in Barcelona @barlafederica La Federica

26 Fabulous things to do in Barcelona

Barcelona is one hot, sexy, incredible city, filled with amazing culture, parties, sunshine, beaches and beautiful people. I’ve visited the Catalan capital five times in the past decade – so it’s clearly one of my favourites. I’ve put together my list of all the fabulous things to do in Barcelona, including festivals, day trips and the best places to watch the sunset (with some cava or cerveza, of course!). So pack your bags with your tiniest outfits ready for one […]

Gluten-free Barcelona El-Sortidor-paella CREDIT Minka Guides

17 Fabulous gluten-free restaurants in Barcelona

When people ask me about my favourite gluten-free cities, Barcelona is very high on my list. Coming from London, where gluten-free options are aplenty, I have very high expectations but Barcelona doesn’t disappoint. From banging breakfasts through to late-night Mexicana, gluten-free Barcelona is one of my favourite foodie cities in the world. So if you’re heading to its sunny shores soon, check out my list of fabulous gluten-free restaurants in Barcelona to make sure you enjoy the city just as […]

Bar-Rosso-cocktail-bar Market Hotel Barcelona CREDIT Minka Guides

Review: Market Hotel Barcelona

Open since 2004, the Market Hotel Barcelona is a charming boutique hotel in the city’s Sant Antoni district. Part of the flourishing Andilana Group (who own 30 restaurants and six hotels across Spain, France and Madagascar), their name is synonymous with a certain kind of ‘affordable chic’ in both areas of their business. Housed in a renovated building just around the corner from the iconic Sant Antoni market, this three-star hotel works its best assets well, with a large restaurant […]

Best brunch in Barcelona @minkaguides Federal Sant Antoni French Toast

Feast your eyes on the best brunch in Barcelona

When I first visited over a decade ago, Barcelona‘s brunch scene was only just emerging and cafes with a tasty breakfast menu were hard to find. Flash forward 10 years and I would now rate this city as one of the best in the world for tasty brunch places. In fact, you can easily kick-start your morning in Barcelona at a totally different and delicious cafe every day of the week and still have a few options to spare. Luckily […]

My 5 top Barcelona tips

Barcelona! Lovely Barcelona: it isn’t a city that changes quickly. I always feel like it’s exactly as I left it on my last visit, which is great because I LOVE this place. I don’t want it to change! So here are a few new Barcelona tips I learnt this summer. Make sure you check out my full Barcelona map and city guide here! 1. No Uber Spain responded to protests and lawsuits by traditional cab drivers in late 2014 by […]

Review: Leonardo Hotel Barcelona Las Ramblas

Situated in central El Raval, the Leonardo Hotel Barcelona Las Ramblas opened in June 2016 making it the latest addition to the Leonardo hotel group. The 111 rooms are available in four categories – Economy, Comfort, Superior and Deluxe – and the hotel features a rooftop pool, free WiFi and a stylish breakfast buffet. Here’s my review for Leonardo hotel Barcelona las Ramblas. While you’re thinking about this city, check out my Barcelona city guide! Rates ‎ Price range from […]

Festa Major de Gràcia: Barcelona block party or Anarchist war zone?

This article was written in 2014 after my trip to Barcelona. Check out my full Barcelona city guide here! In 2014, I had one of the most incredible travel experiences, when I watched the sunset from Park Güell and then accidentally stumbled upon the Festa Major de Gràcia. 📌 Planning your trip? Check out my Barcelona city guide! “It looks like one of the seven hills of San Francisco,” I exhaled as we stood at the western entrance to Park […]

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Discover more about Barcelona on my Pinterest board What's on in Barcelona Learn Spanish Gluten-free Barcelona Why you will love Barcelona Things to watch out for in Barcelona

Discover more about Barcelona on my Pinterest board

What's on in Barcelona

Learn Spanish

Gluten-free Barcelona

Why you will love Barcelona

I have to limit myself to visiting Barcelona every second summer because I would never go anywhere else! The Catalan capital feels like Sydney in Europe - the perfect example of a seaside city: big but not too crowded (by a Londoner’s standards anyway), spreading out of the central area to a number of really interesting districts, such as up-and-coming Poble-Sec, lefty heaven Gràcia and Dalston-like El Raval (which is where I prefer to stay). In the summer it is hot and cheerful, saturated with colour and sunshine. It would be hard to ever grow bored of this beautiful city.

Things to watch out for in Barcelona

Airports - be careful to check which airport your flight lands at before you book. The main airport, Barcelona International Airport (or El Prat, airport code: BCN), is only 13 km south-west of the city centre and is the best option. Some budget airlines like Ryan Air don't always fly to this airport but use Girona (airport code: GRO) or Reus (airport code: REU), which are both over 100km from the city and can add greatly to the time and cost of your trip.
Pickpockets - Apparently, Barcelona is pickpocket capital of the world - and spending a day of your holiday at the police station is not much fun. My recent trip saw me targeted 3 times by thieves who managed to open my bags in public. So make sure you bring a day bag with inaccessible pockets!
Las Rambla – stretching from Plaça de Catalunya down to the sea, this is tourist central and should be avoided at all cost. It is swarming with people and terrible microwaved paella cafes, making it a pretty horrible experience of the capital and total pick-pocket central.
No Uber - yup, it is currently banned but the taxi's in the city are much more affordable than say London or Paris, so it's not that different/expensive to use a local service.